Clan Leslie is a Lowland Scottish clan. The progenitor of the Clan, Bartolf, was a nobleman from Hungary, who came to Scotland in 1067. He built a castle at Lesselyn, from which the clan name derives.

Earl of Rothes is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for George Leslie, 1st Lord Leslie. He had already been created Lord Leslie in 1445, also in the Peerage of Scotland. His grandson, the third Earl, having only succeeded his elder brother in March 1513, was killed at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September of the same year. His son, the fourth Earl, served as an Extraordinary Lord of Session. Lord Rothes was also tried for the murder of Cardinal Beaton but was acquitted.